Internet giant Google will run this shared workplace for startup technology companies that interior designers Jump Studios have just completed in the area nicknamed Silicon Roundabout in Shoreditch, London.

Occupying a seven storey building, the Google Campus contains a series of flexible open-plan workspaces and lockers that accommodate hot desking.

Informal meeting rooms and small kitchens are contained within shipping containers, as are the lockers.

At ground level is a reception desk decorated with multicoloured Duplo bricks, beyond which a wall of reclaimed fruit crates provides shelving for books, magazines, pin boards and clocks.

Red industrial shutters separate the reception from a presentation room at the back, which can also be subdivided into two.

A cafe filled with plywood furniture and a workshop for non-members occupies the lower ground floor.

Google Campus is a seven storey co-working and event space in the centre of London’s Tech City, otherwise known as Silicon Roundabout. The project, run by Google UK aims to fuel the success of London’s tech start up community.

Working with partners Seedcamp, Tech Hub, Springboard and Central Working, the primary function of Campus will be to provide office space for startup companies, but the facilities will also host daily events, offer regular speaker series with leading technology and entrepreneurship experts, hold networking events and run a constant mentoring program where Google staff will share their experience and expertise with residents.

Non-residential registered users will have access to the cafe and co-working space on the lower ground floor.

The design challenge was to take an unprepossessing seven-storey office building and to create an interplay between dynamic, open, social spaces and more intimate working hubs, with flexibility to accommodate a shifting workforce and a diverse program of events.

Much of the architectural focus has been on opening up and connecting the ground and lower ground floors programmatically to play host to a series of socialized spaces, from reception and informal meeting areas to theatre, cafe and workshop spaces.

Furthermore the overall look and feel of the building was designed to reflect the nature of the future occupants of the building: young start-ups who are just about to kick off their careers rather than well established corporate companies. By stripping back the building to its core, exposing all services, revealing the existing structure of ceiling slabs and columns and combining this with utilitarian and inexpensive materials such as linoleum and plywood a raw aesthetic has been created not dissimilar to a garage or workshop.

This low-tech environment has then been furnished with several autonomous objects, which emanate a strong presence in the space:

In the reception visitors are welcomed by a reception desk partly made from multi- coloured Lego bricks – a nod to Google’s founders who always had a special fondness for the Danish toy building blocks – in an otherwise unbranded environment.

A large inspiration wall made from reclaimed vegetable crates dominates the holding area. The wall can be used as shelving for books and magazine or to display objects and artefacts that help tell the story of the building and its inhabitants. The first exhibition installed for the launch of the building revolves around iconic objects from the world of communication and consumer electronics.

Towards the rear the holding area opens up to a large presentation room offering seats for up to 140 people. The two spaces can be subdivided by means of a bright red roller shutter which contributes to the industrial aesthetic of the environment.

The loading bay next to reception has been converted to accommodate up to 40 bicycle stations to encourage cycling.

Working areas, which occupy the upper five floors of the building, are open plan. They incorporate multi-functioning container units that separates circulation from the main office space and offer hot desking, personal lockers, recycling stations, video conferencing / meeting booths and a micro kitchen. It is complemented by a soft seating area facing the micro kitchen, along with an upholstered nook offering respite from the hustle and bustle of the working areas. Large panels upholstered in a neutral grey fabric along the walls improve the acoustics of the space and double up as pin-up surfaces.

Access to both the top floor flat roof and the lower ground floor courtyard has been introduced to offer up an enhanced experience of the building. The top-floor flat roof has been timber decked and will be used for cinema screenings and social gatherings. Working with landscape artists ‘The Wayward Plant Project’ the lower ground floor exterior space has been transformed into a timber decked patio featuring moss walls and a fern garden, alongside flowers that are technologically enhanced to tweet when in need of water! This external space is open to residents of the building as well as visitors of the adjacent café.

The design of the café follows the same logic and employs the same materials that have been used elsewhere in the building. The coffee bar itself sits kiosk-like in the centre of the floor and divides the space into two separate zones: the café towards the rear featuring bespoke upholstered banquet seating and small benches made from simple, oiled plywood as well as a large mural by graphic artist Luke Embden.

A large workbench for informal workshops and seminars occupies the front of the space. The half-pipe room behind a wooden warehouse door offers a calm and muted atmosphere to brainstorm new business ideas or simply relax after lunch.

A nice contrast to the over designed google offices featured previously, this is a more appropriate level of specification for the short term nature of office fit outs. Although 'unbranded' it has a distinct personality, which may be a little bit raw for startups trying to project a professional rather than grad student image. What is of most interest is the partnership of different companies to provide this type of space. We should see more of this sponsored co-working sort of arrangement in the future.

Donkey

Sooo Shoreditch.

Don't know whether that's a compliment or an insult.

ircmaven

How are they dealing with acoustics? All those hard surfaces can make for a challenging work environment full of noise, echoes, and reverberations.

http://www.cargocollective.com/widianto widianto

great place to work i think, and also very nice place to stimulate creativity or brain storming.

judy

out of budget?

Jaypers

Those are not actually shipping containers, are they?

http://plus3design.com +3Design

Good idea with the red industrial shutters! Nice working space!

Soupdragon

All looks nicely expensive to me. Try working on schools projects, linoleum and plywood are too expensive to use!

Jason

I suppose if you are building interiors for recent college grads without much exposure to comfort or luxury this works ok. It's like super-basement meets garage.

http://www.charugureja.com Charu

Although I love the idea of using shipping containers to house the pantry and the industrial shutters, overall the space has too many competing materials. The reception doesn't seem to match the rest of the space. Although it's refreshing to see a Google office which isn't full of spherical colored objects!

Been here

Whole design concept was already done in 1991 by Chiat Day in LA … Is this some sort of ironic retro bulls***?

http://www.lockerwinkel.nl Katrina Bull

We love the lockers inside the shipping containers.

http://www.supershieldshutters.com.au/ Stella D. Frantz

It looks under polished but very presentable. It gives me the vibe of a cafe.